In this early lithograph, Whistler drew his design directly on the stone (rather than onto transfer paper), applying washes of ink to achieve striking atmospheric effects. Whistler printed this river subject in 1878, the year in which his libel case against the art critic John Ruskin"—involving Ruskin's attack on one of Whistler's painted "Nocturnes"—was heard. Though Whistler won the case, the court costs forced him to declare bankruptcy in the following year.